Fan Expo – Day two. The first full day of con goodness. No travel. No hauling around luggage.
Just, you know, hauling around my con bag, comics to be signed, and purchases. By the end of the day, Con Shoulder whining will inevitably begin.
Before con vs After con: The Face of Exhaustion
My very first trip to Canada went a lot smoother than I had anticipated. For some reason, I imagined quite a few hiccups and setbacks for a solo trip: forgetting some vital thing for travel, getting lost trying to find my gate, having some issue in customs because I haven’t been through anything like that since I went to the Bahamas when I was 13 and 15, both times my mom was there to take care of everything. Needless to say, when my mom and brother dropped me off at the airport, I was a bit nervous.
However, breaking in my passport on my own was an interesting experience. There was a blend of anxiety from just being by myself, and also a strange sort of relaxation from it. By the time I arrived in Canada, got my phone working, made it through customs and had my money exchanged – I felt like I had the hardest part of the trip over. I made my way to the train with ease, boarded and stowed my luggage, and took the peaceful 25 minute trip from the airport to Union Station – just across from my hotel.
The Fairmont York Hotel in Toronto
Well, it’s FINALLY here. I leave super early in the morning for Canada. Less than 24 hours until I’m in Toronto… HOW DID IT GET HERE SO SOON?!
Which means, I’m in final stages of packing tonight.
So, what am I bringing along for Fan Expo?
I have my hotel confirmation and all of my tickets printed and packed. My information written down so I know when to be where and how. If the printer cooperates before I leave, I’ll have a con floor map and schedule printed, too. Tomorrow is pretty well lined out in my head, so I think I’m prepared.
All I have left to do is last minute packing, and the actual journey to the airport.
I can’t wait! I’ll have loads of pictures and hopefully some great posts for you guys when I get back!
See you when I get back!
~Angel
This is a reoccurring reminder every time I go shopping before any trip.
Yup. I do. So, tell me, how’d I go to buy some jeans for my trip, and end up with all this?
Okay. Let’s reason, a bit, here:
There was a sale at All the Rage comics (which I need to do a proper post on, sometime), where everything I bought was either 50% or 25% off. So, the three comics toward the bottom were 50%. Then the 1986 trade paperback of The Dark Knight Returns was 25% off, and I ended up paying less than $10 for it. Then that copy of Metal was 25% off, and I’d been wanting that particular cover. Decent and fairly inexpensive haul, there.
The Lil Gotham issues were $2.99 at V-stock, and actually came with a second issue behind each one. So I walked away with issues #1-4, plus my mom bought them for me. So, zero spent on those four issues.
I needed to buy a small purse, and planned to make this purchase, because I don’t want to haul my con bag around outside of the con itself. I mainly just needed a place to shove a few items in that zips. So, I went into Hot Topic to have a look. They were having a sale: if you bought any bag, if you put anything into the bag, you’d get 25% off the bag AND the item. So, the Tiffany Pop! from Bride of Chucky got shoved into the Harley bag. I left paying less for both than I would have for just the bag, itself. SCORE!
I did get my jeans and other miscellaneous clothing items I needed for my trip. But the point was showing that I could still make a haul like the one above, save a bunch of money, and still be ready for a con that is now ONE WEEK AND ONE DAY AWAY! Whoa. I should finish packing…
~Angel
The Comic Book Stor-Folio is a handy dandy little box that opens up for you to slide comics into, either to carry around in your normal life or shop trips, or for cons. I was wanting one of these bad boys for a while, and just before Wizard World St Louis, I decided to order one to give it a proper go.
IT WAS AMAZING!
My first time out with it, it was for the con. It fit perfectly into my new con bag, and it’s super light (well, when it’s empty), so it isn’t like I’m hauling around some heavy duty thing. Enough junk has to get stuffed into my con bag as it is, so light was definitely a plus.
This was really beneficial to me in two ways:
The Stor-Folio can hold around 15 current or silver age books, and has this fancy little slot on the front, where you can put in some art to make it look cooler, or store an extra comic. I’d like to put some nifty art in there, myself. Just need to decide on something.
Anyway, I’ve obviously used this for con, but I’ve taken it to shops a few times so I can store my books in my bag and know they’re well protected. It’ll probably go with me the next time I go to New York or anywhere similar, where I go into a lot of shops.
This little baby is currently full of books that are heading to FanExpo Canada with me in roughly three weeks. I’m so excited! Expect a post on my packing progress within the next few weeks.
~Angel
This is it, folks! Nearly a month away from my first trip to Canada, and my first time at Fan Expo. Here’s what’s new:
PREMIUM PACKAGE INCLUDES THE DELUXE FAN EXPO PASS, PLUS:
• Admission to all 4 days of FAN EXPO CANADA™
• Access to Special Preview on Thursday at 2pm
• Exclusive Priority Access into buildings
• Exclusive Premium Lounge Access
• Limited Edition FAN EXPO CANADA™ Premium Badge
• Exclusive FAN EXPO CANADA™ Bag
• Exclusive Comic from Major Publisher
• Limited Edition Superhero Lithograph
• Exclusive Collectible
• Limited Edition FAN EXPO CANADA™ T-Shirt
• Limited Edition Show Program
• Exclusive Pre-Sale for Celebrity Photo Ops
• Exclusive Pre-Sale on Select Events
• Exclusive Ticket Counter
• Free SINGLE DAY General Admission pass (excluding Saturdays)
to ALL FUTURE FAN EXPO HQ events until, but not including,
FAN EXPO CANADA™ 2018.
Hellooooooooo, goodies!
So, yeah. Here we go, guys. Next month, we pack and head north!
~Angel
Well, here we are. Another month closer to FanExpo Canada. Time for another update post! This time, let’s focus on the comic guests announced so far that I’m most excited for:
This is a massive line up, and it isn’t even all of them. I’m absolutely dying to meet these guys, especially Tom King. But wait, there’s more!
One of my faaaaavorite artists, Adam Hughes, is going to be there! I can’t wait. I’m going to take some Catwoman books to get signed. Plus, I have this gorgeous poster I picked up at con last month:
Which also sort of leads me into a new side project…:
Recently, a group was formed on Instagram called The Cat Force ( @_thecatforce ), a page branching off of The Bat Force. The members currently include myself and four other ladies (Gen, Cheri, and Naj) – SUPER dedicated Catwoman fans. I’ve been playing catch up, with my recent comic haul:
The current plan is that I’ll be covering con stuff for our page. Exciting, right?!
I’ll have an update post next month with more goodies to share.
Anyone else going to FanExpo? Who are you most excited to see?
~Angel
After a week of exciting guest announcements, I’m getting really anxious for my trip. Here’s the guests announced so far:
Next year begins a grand adventure, with my very first trip to Canada! I’ve been wanting to go to Fan Expo Toronto a few years now, and I’ve finally decided to go for it next year. While the con is definitely my main purpose while I’m there, I’m hoping to see a few things in Toronto if I can, and possibly stretch my trip a bit to visit a few other areas in Canada. One particular place being a comic shop in Windsor I’ve been dying to see.
This is one of my bigger trips, and definitely one I need to be strategic about financially to pull off. I’ve already began the good old change jars for spending money. I need to do some extra shoots, sell some art work, maybe have a yard sale or two, just to help cushion my wallet a bit over the next year. But, I’ll make it happen, and keep updating on the progress as I go over the next several months.
Stay tuned for more the next few weeks, including more on Halloween Horror Nights this year!
~Angel
Wandering NerdGirl 